Explaining Popular Support for Environmental Protection: A Multilevel Analysis of 50 Nations
Abstract
The differences in public support for environmental protection among individuals from 50 nations were investigated. Support was determined by the willingness of individuals to make financial sacrifices to protect the environment. The results from multilevel analyses indicated that significant variance exists within and among nations in the level of support. The contextual-level variance was to a substantial degree explained by individual-level variables, capturing compositional effects. Income, postmaterialism, educational attainment, environmental involvement, and age related directly to support for environmental protection. Contextual-level variables—GDP, GDP growth, and average postmaterialist value-orientation of publics—also related directly to levels of support among nations and explained a significant part of the contextual-level variance. The findings are congruent with the affluence hypothesis and Inglehart's subjective values hypothesis. They also point to the necessity of simultaneously assessing the effects of individual- and contextual-level characteristics on proenvironmental attitudes in cross-national research.
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In the presence of relative economic security, people have a greater capacity to care for others and for the environment.
“This follows from the argument that in the presence of relative economic security (when the basic needs of livelihood are met), people have a greater capacity to care for others and for the environment (Gelissen, 2007), and in such communities a greater number of sustainability entrepreneurs and customers who emphasise social and environmental sustainability in their decisions is likely to exist.”
From Sustainability startups and where to find them: Investigating the share of sustainability startups across entrepreneurial ecosystems and the causal drivers of differences (2021) · cites this paper as Gelissen, 2007
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Economic growth and the environment
Grossman, G. M., & Krueger, A. B. (1995) · The Quarterly Journal of Economics · doi:10.2307/2118443 · Cited by 9,901 · see citing works
Hox, J., Moerbeek, M., & van de Schoot, R. (2002) · doi:10.4324/9781410604118 · Cited by 2,419 · see citing works
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Willingness of residents to participate in e-waste recycling in India
Dwivedy, M., & Mittal, R. K. (2013) · Environmental Development · doi:10.1016/j.envdev.2013.03.001 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
Tiba, S., van Rijnsoever, F. J., & Hekkert, M. P. (2021) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127054 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
- Authors
- Gelissen, J.
- Affiliations
- Tilburg University (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Gelissen, John
- ORCID
- Gelissen, John
- Venue
- Environment and Behavior
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2007-05
- Volume
- 39
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 392-415
- ISSN
- 0013-9165 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-390X
- OpenAlex
- W2009118293
- Cited by
- 358
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 23 · 2012: 26
- FWCI
- 20.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Environment and Behavior (publishedVersion)
- Research portal (Tilburg University) (publishedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Environmental Education and Sustainability
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Sustainable Development and Environmental Management
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Cultural Differences and Values
- Keywords
- pro-environmental attitudes, cross-national variation, willingness to pay for environmental protection, post-materialism, subjective value, income, educational attainment, environmental engagement, gross domestic product, composition effects
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